Current Occupation and place of employment: Administrative Assistant at the Iowa House of Representatives.

College and Degree: Currently attending DMACC for a Business Administration Degree.

Previous Elected Official Experience: (Appointed) Chair of the Adel Parks and Recreation Board

Top Three Priorities if elected:

Community Unity: One of my number one priorities will be to ensure our fragmented community is brought together so we can move forward as ONE community. It is so important that we make decisions as a unified front that benefits every resident.

Infrastructure: Ensuring infrastructure works for everyone and at an affordable rate is so extremely important. We want people from around Iowa to look towards Adel for leadership in advancements and how to manage infrastructure systems.

Ensuring taxpayer dollars are being used in the most efficient way possible: Ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently is the single most important job of government leaders. I can ensure the people of Adel, that I will always be the watchful eye watching out for their best interest in how we spend their money.

Jim Peters (Incumbent)

Age: 64

How long have you lived in Adel: 48 years total.

Family Members: Wife Pam, son Grant, his fiancée Nicki and grandson Corbin, and Mother Rosetta, a 62-year resident of Adel.

College and Degree: Iowa State University, B.S., Industrial Administration double major in Accounting and Marketing, with a minor in Economics

Previous Elected Official Experience: Mayor of Adel 26 years, 1992-present; Adel city council four years, 1988-1991.

Top Three Priorities if elected:

The most important issue facing Adel in the next three years is protecting our eastern border from Waukee’s encroachment. This can be done one of two ways, by either extending the existing moratorium agreement running north and south along R16 and just to the east of Monarch Manufacturing set to expire in April of 2021; or by extending Adel’s sewer east which would position us to annex north and south on the western side of the moratorium line. When Waukee annexed over 3,000 acres this summer, the only reason their annexation did not extend to the Raccoon River was Adel’s annexation in 2010 east to Ortonville/R16 and establishing the moratorium agreement because Waukee will be set to file papers and annex as much land around Adel as they want when the moratorium expires.

Be a mentor to the city administrator, finance officer, city clerk and water billing clerk at city hall. The four of them have a combined total of seven years’ experience or 1.75 years each. Being involved with budgets and city operations for the past 30 years, plus my 37 years in the business world having both human resources and budget responsibilities, I am uniquely qualified and will be in a position to provide the staff with this mentoring and guidance.

Making sure the water, sewer and storm water projects we have been planning for almost three years are completed between now and 2022. Nine water and storm water sub-projects will either be under design or construction in 2018 with the new water plant coming on-line in 2019/2020 timeframe. The new plant will use reverse osmosis softening technology, will be capable of meeting current demands and will be designed for cost effective modular expansion as future demands require.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Rob Christensen

Age: 45

How long have you lived in Adel: 2.5 years.

Family Members: Aleks, Victor, Nickolas, Ivan.

Current Occupation and place of employment: Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

College and Degree: University of Northern Iowa (Political Science); Nizhniy Novgord State University (Russian language); Moscow State University (Russian language and culture).

Previous Elected Official Experience: Elected to 2 terms in the early/mid 1990’s to the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District Board of Directors (2 years as board president).

Top Three Priorities if elected:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: An abatement is not an economic development plan. Adel needs a smart growth plan that has input not only from developers, but from the residents as well. The city must refocus its efforts towards a comprehensive plan with goals and measurements that result in real wealth creation by focusing on commercial, light industrial and specialty retail growth.

QUALITY OF LIFE: The reason my family moved to Adel were for its quality of life – Good Schools, Good Neighborhoods and Good People. We must adopt policies that bring people together and encourage these things, including expanding our green spaces, connecting our neighborhoods & schools with trails & sidewalks, supporting our library, and having clean water that everyone can afford. These things will do the most to encourage people to live and stay in Adel.

OPEN GOVERNMENT: We must have a city government that is open to its citizenry – by encouraging regular input at listening posts, webcasting council meetings, and insuring meetings are at times when residents can attend. An ethics, nepotism and conflict of interest policy must be adopted and applied to all city committees to prevent even the slightest appearance of impropriety. The city must also work in a better partnership with the schools, county and state government to make sure wise planning is done as the community grows.

Current Occupation: Retired after 40-plus years of sales, accounting and human resource experiences.

College and Degree: B.A. in accounting and personal management at Buena Vista University.

Previous Elected Official Experience: 4 years on the Adel City Council and seven years on the Sac County Board of Supervisors.

Top Three Priorities: Budget efficiently: I have prepared 11 city and county budgets and have the knowledge and background needed to work with city staff to increase available city services while keeping increases to property taxes as low as possible; maintain deficit free annual fiscal audits, and follow through on the city’s five-year capital improvement plan.

Continue infrastructure improvements: During the past two years, city council has been actively planning and preparing for improvements to our streets, water treatment plant, and storm water sewage systems. The Parks and Recreation Department has created a master park and trails improvements plan which will benefit current and future residents. My participation in the Community Visioning Committee will also help enhance the appearance of our community.

Focus on the positive: Adel has seen residential growth, new retail and service businesses, and commercial and manufacturing expansions even while maintaining our small-town charm and identity. I look forward to merging the ideas and energy of our new residents with the dedication and experience of those that have lived here longer to help Adel thrive!

Jodi L. (Struble) Selby

Age: 49

Time in Adel: 40-plus years

Family Members: Scott (husband); children, Tasia, Rori, and Luke.

College and Degree: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Upper Iowa University.

Current Occupation: Vice President and Manager, Financial Intelligence Department at Bankers Trust Company.

Previous Elected Official Experience: This will be my first experience as an elected official.

Top Three Priorities:

1. Communication and Transparency - I believe clear communication and complete transparency is paramount in keeping the citizens informed of the decisions impacting their community. I plan to improve the lines of communication with the expansion of different communication channels and commit to total transparency in all issues and decisions made by the council.

2. Sound, Strategic Growth - I believe the growth of Adel should be done strategically and with defined goals. Those goals should be analyzed regularly to determine their success and/or failure and adjusted accordingly. I also believe growth should occur with the least financial impact to the residents.

3. Unification - I am also committed to unifying the community. Division has grown and the sense of community those of us know and love about this town seems lost among the issues that have caused such angst among the citizens. While this saddens me a great deal I know the citizens of this wonderful town and I’m certain the divide that has separated it can be narrowed and eventually eliminated.

Bryce Smith

Age: 25

How long have you lived in Adel: 4 years

Family Members: husband, Kale Smith

Current Occupation and place of employment: Small business owner; Adel Family Fun Center

College and Degree: B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa in education and economics

Previous Elected Official Experience: Current Vice President of the Iowa Bowling Proprietors Association. Current chair of the Dallas County Democrats

Top Three Priorities if elected:

Economic Development: Being a small business owner I plan to bring a new perspective to the council. Expanding our outlook on land useage, working with local and regional organizations to showcase what Adel has to offer and making sure Adel has good and improving infrastructure, water quality, and good energy sustainability practices.

Safe routes to schools: With the growth in our town we have to keep a sharp, forward thinking eye on how we get people, especially our kids and students, around town safely and efficiently. Connecting new developments, bridging communities together using sidewalks, trials and improved sidewalks and most importantly keeping kids safe when they walk, bike or drive to and from school.

Broadband connectivity: High speed internet is a must in today’s world and our town is falling behind in what we offer to our residents and our businesses. There are many avenues to take when increasing connectivity and I plan to research, listen and work towards bringing faster broadband to Adel to help everyone thrive.